Offshore wind farm developments - public perceptions: survey

4 Proximity to offshore wind farms

As outlined in section 3, respondents were asked 'which offshore wind farm located near you are you aware of?'. Mapping awareness of offshore wind farm developments indicates that proximity to a development and awareness are not inextricably linked (Figure 4.1). However, proximity and approval is an area of interest and this is examined further in this chapter.

Figure 4.1 illustrates the span of awareness of offshore wind farm developments: some respondents consider themselves to be near a wind development without living particularly close to it, while others may live very close to a development but are not aware of it. People with awareness of offshore wind farm developments in Scotland typically span the east coast.

This can be better demonstrated at a local level and the remainder of this chapter will discuss:

• Aberdeen area offshore wind farms developments (Aberdeen Bay, Hywind and Kincardine),
• Moray firth developments (Beatrice and Moray East),
• Southern Scotland developments (Robin Rigg and Neart na Gaoithe).

4.1 Aberdeen area offshore wind farm developments.

Aberdeen offshore wind farms include Aberdeen Bay, Hywind and Kincardine offshore wind farm developments. There is a high level of awareness of the three Aberdeen offshore wind farms, from all respondents. Around three in five people (61%) with an awareness of an offshore wind farm development are aware of a development in the Aberdeen area (47% Aberdeen Bay, 11% Kincardine and 3% Hywind). Figure 4.2 displays the spread of awareness of an Aberdeen offshore wind farm development and shows that respondents as far as Dundee and Stirling are aware of the Aberdeen offshore wind farms.

Looking at the perceptions of those people who were aware of a development in the Aberdeen area, 84% approve of offshore wind farms.

4.2 Moray Firth area offshore wind farm developments

The same was true for developments in the Moray Firth (Figure 4.3), where there was a spread of awareness spanning the coastal area, with 24% of people aware of an offshore wind farm development naming Beatrice or Moray East.

As with develpments within the Aberdeen area, proximity to these developments did not have a negative effect on approval. Indeed, 81% of those who were aware of either Beatrice or Moray East OWF development approved of offshore wind farm developments.

4.3 Southern Scotland offshore wind farm developments

Fewer respondents (around 9% of those with an awareness of an offshore wind farm development) are aware of the Robin Rigg (operational) and Neart na Gaoithe (under construction) developments in southern Scotland (Figure 4.4).

Again, despite awareness of and proximity to offshore wind farm development approval ratings are high, with 85% of those aware of a development in southern Scotland approving of OWFs.

The direct impacts felt by those respondents closest to the developments are explored in Chapter 5.